DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This office action is in response to Applicant’s communication filed on 12/17/2025 Claims 7-12, 14-16 have been examined. Claims 1-6, 13 are cancelled. Claims 14-16 are new.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks – Pages 5-6 filed on 12/17/2025 with respect to the rejection of claim 7 under 102 (a1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Bonachea.
With regards to 101 rejection. Applicant amendment overcome the rejection. Therefore, the rejection is withdrawn.
With regards to 112 rejection. Applicant amendment overcome the rejection. Therefore, the rejection is withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a2) as being anticipated by Bonachea et al. Publication No. US 2023/0352971 A1 ( Bonachea hereinafter) .
Regarding claim 14
Bonachea teaches mounting termination unit for an automation system ( ¶ 0008 - the ATS controller having a controller board therein that controls operation of the one or more switching components) , the mounting termination unit comprising
the non-volatile storage storing provisioning data for a network switch, wherein the provisioning data comprises data enabling a network device comprising the network switch to obtain at least a baseline configuration for the network switch (Abstract, ¶ 0032 - mobile memory module 210 is removably mounted on the top side of the controller board 204 in data communication with the microprocessor 208. As mentioned, the mobile memory module 210 is a discrete, nonvolatile memory module that stores various operational settings and other information required by the microprocessor 208 to control operation of the ATS 108. The microprocessor 208 can retrieve these operational settings and other information from the mobile memory module 210 as needed and also store updated or new operational settings on the mobile memory module 210 as required. Claim 1 - a mobile memory module removably mounted to the controller board and connected for data communication with the controller board, the mobile memory module configured to store one or more operational settings required for controlling the one or more switching components – ¶ 0047 - The commissioning process typically includes configuring the ATS with specific operational settings that control how the ATS monitors - The commissioning process typically includes configuring the ATS with specific operational settings that control how the ATS monitors - See Also ¶ 0030, ¶ 0034).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 7,10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rukmangathan et al. Publication No. US 2014/0298007 A1 ( Rukmangathan hereinafter) in view of Bonachea
Regarding claim 7
Rukmangathan teaches an automatic switch configuration method, the method comprising:
storing provisioning data for a network switch in non-volatile storage [..], wherein the provisioning data comprises data enabling a network device comprising a network switch to obtain at least a baseline configuration for the network switch; accessing, by the network device, the provisioning data stored in the non-volatile storage following mounting of the network device to a mounting termination unit ( ¶ 0012 - Network switch 102 could be of different types. On the basis of form, network switch 102 may be a rack mounted switch, chassis switch, catalyst switch, etc. On the basis of configuration, network switch 102 may be a managed switch, an unmanaged switch, a smart or an enterprise managed switch - ¶ 0026 – ¶ 0027 - applying a configuration file to a network switch comprises transferring or transmitting the encrypted configuration file from the server to the network switch. Transferring of a configuration file may take place, for instance, by copying the encrypted configuration file to a portable storage medium such as a USB drive, and then copying the encrypted configuration file from the portable storage medium to the target network switch).
using the provisioning data to obtain the baseline configuration for the network switch; and configuring the network switch using the obtained baseline configuration ¶ 0027 - Applying a configuration file to a network switch may also include applying configuration settings or configuration data in the encrypted configuration file to a network switch. This may first involve decryption of the encrypted configuration file (or configuration settings) on the network switch to which the configuration file (or configuration settings) is/are being applied).
However, Rukmangathan does not explicitly teaches storing provisioning data for a network switch in non-volatile storage of a mounting termination unit
Bonachea teaches
storing provisioning data for a network switch in non-volatile storage of a mounting termination unit (Abstract , ¶ 0032- The mobile memory module is a discrete, nonvolatile memory module that stores operational settings for the ATS and can be mounted and removed via a removable fastener. When thus mounted, the mobile memory module is connected to a signal path that allows data communication with a microprocessor on the controller. The microprocessor can retrieve operational settings from the mobile memory module as needed and store updated or new operational settings on the mobile memory module as required – See Also ¶ 0034) ..
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Rukmangathan to include the teachings of Bonachea. The motivation for doing so is to allow the memory module to be easily removed from a controller of the ATS in case of a failure ( Bonachea – Abstract).
Regarding claim 10
Rukmangathan further teaches
wherein using the provisioning data to obtain the baseline configuration for the network switch comprises retrieving the baseline configuration from the non-volatile storage (¶ 0026 – applying a configuration file to a network switch comprises transferring or transmitting the encrypted configuration file from the server to the network switch. Transferring of a configuration file may take place, for instance, by copying the encrypted configuration file to a portable storage medium such as a USB drive, and then copying the encrypted configuration file from the portable storage medium to the target network switch - ¶ 0027 - Applying a configuration file to a network switch may also include applying configuration settings or configuration data in the encrypted configuration file to a network switch. This may first involve decryption of the encrypted configuration file (or configuration settings) on the network switch to which the configuration file (or configuration settings) is/are being applied).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rukmangathan in view of Bonachea further in view of Agarwal et al. Publication No. US 2020/0052968 A1 ( Agarwal hereinafter).
Regarding claim 8
Rukmangathan teaches wherein the mounting of the network device to the mounting termination unit (¶ 0012).
However, Rukmangathan does not explicitly teach
mounting occurs in the case that the network device is used to replace a previously-mounted network device which has malfunctioned, wherein the provisioning data which is used to configure the network switch of the newly-mounted network device was also used to configure a network switch of the previously-mounted network device.
Agarwal teaches
mounting occurs in the case that the network device is used to replace a previously-mounted network device which has malfunctioned, wherein the provisioning data which is used to configure the network switch of the newly-mounted network device was also used to configure a network switch of the previously-mounted network device (¶ 0012 - These techniques may help enable plug and play process to replace faulty switch devices since the switch configuration information is stored on network storage devices (target). These techniques may help enable single point of configuration of network switch devices from network storage devices which may help provide for organization policy or regulatory enforcement of the network switch devices. Therefore, these techniques may help improve performance of computer networks – ¶ 0017 - network storage device 102 may be configured to respond to a replacement of network switch device 106 with a replacement switch device. In this case, network storage device 102 can detect a faulty or a change of network switch device 106 and respond to the replacement of the network switch device and reestablish a link with replacement network switch device comprising a connection with principal port 118 of the replacement network switch device. network storage device 102 reselects, from the plurality of initial switch configuration templates 116, an initial switch configuration template 120 associated with replacement network switch device 106 – ¶ 0018 - network storage device 102 selects, from the plurality of initial switch configuration templates 116, an initial switch configuration template 120 associated with the network switch device, based on the received switch type).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Rukmangathan to include the teachings of Agarwal. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to replace faulty switch devices (Agarwal – ¶ 0012).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rukmangathan in view of Bonachea further in view of Le et al. Publication US 20080209015 A1 ( Le hereinafter)
Regarding claim 9
Rukmangathan further teaches
verifying the baseline configuration against a reference configuration ( ¶ 0020 - once a configuration file related to a network switch has been edited, the configuration file is validated for compatibility with the network switch on the computer server. In other words, a determination is made whether the modified or new configuration settings ( or the edited configuration file) would be compatible with the network switch for which the edited configuration settings (or configuration file) are intended – See Also ¶ 0021 – 0023).
However, Rukmangathan does not explicitly teach
by the network device, after the network switch has been configured, fetching a reference configuration from an engineering server
Le teaches
by the network device, after the network switch has been configured, fetching a reference configuration from an engineering server and verifying the baseline configuration against a reference configuration ( ¶ 0024 - provide an autonomic configuration system that allows a system administrator to identify potential network and/or storage related configuration problems due to the potential addition of new components. the autonomic configuration system automatically downloads the latest configuration constraints ( e.g., configuration policies) from an interoperability site or a data store that is maintained by, for example, experts in the field of systems management -¶ 0037 - An automatic policy update layer 224 contacts a remote policy data store 17 4 to get updates of the latest configuration policies, and the automatic policy update layer 224 stores these configuration policies in a local policy data store 172. Example transactions include Firmware code for Switch 902 updated -¶ 0041 - An evaluator 220 compares the at least one configuration policy with the configuration data associated with the event from which the trigger was generated to determine whether configuration policies have been violated -See Also Claim 1, ¶ 0042, ¶ 0062).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Rukmangathan to include the teachings of Le. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to correct a configuration problem (Le – ¶ 0014) .
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rukmangathan in view of Bonachea further in view of Tan et al. Publication No. US 2003/0126347 A1 ( Tan hereinafter)
Regarding claim 11
Rukmangathan teaches wherein retrieving the baseline configuration from the non-volatile storage comprises accessing the non-volatile storage (¶ 0026 – ¶ 0027).
However, Rukmangathan does not explicitly teach accessing the storage via a redundant bus.
Tan teaches
accessing the storage via a redundant bus (Claim 1 - providing a host computer
device having a host bus redundant access to a data storage device).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Rukmangathan to include the teachings of Tan. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to provide redundancy and to avoid a single points of failure.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rukmangathan in view of Bonachea further in view of Le further in view of Garcia et al. Publication No. US 2017/0201419 A1 (Garcia hereinafter)
Regarding claim 12
Rukmangathan further teaches
wherein using the provisioning data to obtain the baseline configuration comprises retrieving the baseline configuration from a remote location indicated by the provisioning data. (Fig.1, ¶ 0026).
However, Rukmangathan does not explicitly teach that the remote location is indicated by the provisioning data
Garcia teaches
retrieving the baseline configuration from a remote location indicated by the provisioning data ( ¶ 0055 - If the configuration information obtained from the in-band DHCP server includes a URL, then, at 709, the configuration program accesses a configuration server at the in-band URL to obtain further configuration information).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Rukmangathan to include the teachings of Garcia. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to obtain the additional configuration from the configuration server to configure the device (¶ 0055 – Garcia).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bonachea in view of Rukmangathan
Regarding claim 15
Bonachea does not explicitly teach
wherein the provisioning data is stored in the non-volatile storage in encrypted form
However, Rukmangathan teaches
wherein the provisioning data is stored in the non-volatile storage in encrypted form (¶ 0012 network switch includes encryption/decryption module 108 Encryption/decryption module 108 performs decryption of an encrypted configuration file ( or configuration settings). In an implementation, an encrypted configuration file is received from a computer server. Encryption/decryption module 108 may also carry out encryption of a configuration file ( or configuration settings) present on a network switch. In an implementation, an encrypted configuration file is transferred to a computer server for editing) - ¶ 0024 - ¶ 0028 - An encryption/decryption module on the network switch may perform the decryption of the encrypted configuration file ( or configuration settings))
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Bonachea to include the teachings of Rukmangathan. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to enhance security and prevent unauthorized access.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bonachea in view Rukmangathan further in view of Narayanan et al. Publication No. US 2022/0070056 A1 ( Narayanan hereinafter).
Regarding claim 16
Bonachea does not explicitly teach
wherein the provisioning data is CPU agnostic and is usable by different hardware revisions
However, Rukmangathan teaches
wherein the provisioning data is usable by different hardware revisions (¶ 0020 - once a configuration file related to a network switch has been edited, the configuration file is validated for compatibility with the network switch on the computer server. In other words, a determination is made whether the modified or new configuration settings ( or the edited configuration file) would be compatible with the network switch for which the edited configuration settings (or configuration file) are intended – ¶ 0021 - The configuration management module may check the compatibility of modified or new configuration settings ( or the edited configuration file) with a destination platform of a network switch. The configuration management module may perform the required validations and report errors, The hardware platform for which the user intends to import/export the configuration to/from could be determined via an identification which is generally present in configuration file headers, or it can be directly supplied by a user. The configuration management module can then resolve hardware dependent attributes like ports using the available hardware information.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Bonachea to include the teachings of Rukmangathan. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to enhance security and prevent unauthorized access.
Bonachea in view of Rukmangathan does not explicitly teach that the provisioning data is CPU-agnostic
However, Narayanan teaches
wherein the provisioning data is CPU-agnostic (¶ 0053 - a configuration is agnostic of the host CPU SoC and switch environment (e.g., BIOS, ONIE, DIAG, NOS, grub, etc.), allows for the potential commoditization of ONIE, and enables provisioning of a “component-upgrade-assist” feature for relatively small customers/enterprises in order to automate component upgrades as well as “fresh” installs (e.g., installation of a new diagnostics storage device when one has failed) and/or pushed updates directly from the switch platform provider using the management communication system of the switch device).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Bonachea in view of Rukmangathan to include the teachings of Narayanan. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to enhance flexibility and adaptability.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/YOUNES NAJI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2445